


chosen family

by LostGeekMonkeyGirl



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Pregnant Dani, alternative universe, chosen family, no ghosts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-25 09:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30086700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostGeekMonkeyGirl/pseuds/LostGeekMonkeyGirl
Summary: After leaving America and moving to England for a fresh start, Dani Clayton finds out that she's pregnant and what she had thought would be the loneliest journey for her to take, actually leads her to find her chosen family.-Set just after Dani had arrived in Bly. No ghosts or Lady of the Lake, just a wholesome family letting their newest member lean on them in her greatest moment of need.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 27
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

It had been almost 6 weeks since that fateful night that had changed the course of Dani Clayton’s life forever and ever since it had happened, she felt like she had been in a trance. However, once she had arrived in Bly, just a little over 2 weeks ago now, the fog had started to clear. It had taken a while to even come to terms with what had happened to her husband, Eddie, but being in a new country, surrounded by people who were kind and seemed to care about her welfare had helped her to start to process it the best that she could.

Bly was a charming little place filled with seemingly charming people too, although Dani had only really met those who worked at the manor as she hadn't ventured out into the small town just yet but those who she had met so far had made her feel welcomed. The busy job had also helped with the forgetting of her past as the only thing that occupied Dani’s mind all day was looking after the two, very charming and lovely young children who she had to care for.

Jamie also helped her to forget. Dani had never felt a feeling like it before when she had first seen Jamie walk into the kitchen on her first day at the manor and from that moment on, the young gardener hadn't left her mind. There had been awkward conversations and desperate, hungry kisses in the beginning but two weeks later, Dani was finally finding her rhythm with Jamie and falling for her hard.

Jamie was the only person who she had told in England about Eddie and Jamie had taken it very well. It had been a shock for her, but she had been nothing less than supportive and understanding. Everyone back in Iowa had given her a pitiful, painful expression when she had said that her husband had died, no one expects to meet a 26 year old widow but Jamie had been the first person to look at her, really look at her like she was just an ordinary person. There had been sympathy yes, but not pity, just understanding and acceptance and that was exactly what Dani had needed.

Dani’s relationship with Eddie had been complicated, on her part at least. Eddie had been an amazing man, an amazing husband but Dani had been hiding a secret and it took her until finally meeting Jamie to admit the truth to herself. Dani had felt guilty at first when she had kissed Jamie but that was what she had needed, and she had deprived herself for so long of living the life that she had always wanted to, so she had just let herself live her truth for the first time in her life.

Her first night with Jamie had been incredible and everything that she had always questioned about herself had fallen into place and that feeling had only be reiterated the night after too when she had asked Jamie to stay over again.

Dani had woken up that morning with her arm draped over Jamie’s waist and her head buried into Jamie’s neck. They had fallen asleep in an entirely different position, but this was the one that they must fall into together during the night as Dani had woken up in the same position the morning prior too. However, unlike the morning before, Dani had woken with a weird feeling in her stomach and from what she could tell, it wasn’t nerves or any kind of emotion at all, it felt more like she was about to throw up.

That assumption was quickly proved correct as Dani shot out from underneath the duvet and ran into her bathroom just in time to see last night’s Shepherd’s Pie. 

Jamie sprinted into the small room a few seconds later, concern written all over her face as she knelt down beside Dani and held her hair back as she threw up so that it didn’t get in her way. 

“Hey, it’s okay” Jamie whispered soothingly as she rubbed calming circles into Dani’s bare back when she saw a few tears well in her bright blue eyes.

Jamie scanned the room for something to hold Dani’s hair back with and her eyes quickly fell upon a hair tie near the sink which she reached for and used to tie the thick blonde hair into a quick bun to keep it from falling in her face. Jamie then used both hands to rub soothing circles into Dani’s back and arm to hopefully help soothe her as she continued to be sick.

After a few minutes of constant vomiting, Dani’s stomach was more or less empty and the wave of nausea that had suddenly hit her hard had started to fade away. She sat back from the toilet and lent against Jamie as she steadied herself.

“I’m so sorry” Dani whispered as she suddenly became extremely self-conscious not only from vomiting in front of Jamie but for also sitting stark naked next to her whilst leaning on her for support.

“It’s okay” Jamie whispered as she pulled Dani into her also very naked body, “Nothing to worry about”.

“I’m so embarrassed” Dani chuckled softly as she hid her face into the crook of Jamie’s neck.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed, Poppins” Jamie whispered as she held Dani tightly, “Do you think you can stand up for me so that I can get you back in bed or do I need to carry you?”.

Dani just giggled softly as she shook her head lightly and climbed to her feet then used Jamie for extra support as she walked her back to her bed. Although she hadn't necessarily woken up tired, her body had suddenly been drained of all of it’s energy and all Dani really wanted to do was go back to sleep again.

Jamie sat her down on the edge of the bed then rummaged around in her chest of draws to find her something to wear.

“This okay?” Jamie asked as she turned around to show Dani a thick knit sweater.

Dani just nodded as she took a few deep breaths to try and get rid of the little nausea that was still hanging around in her stomach.

“Arms up” Jamie said softly as she helped Dani into the jumper then bent down and slid a fresh pair of Dani’s underwear up her legs for her and Dani stood up and pulled them into place.

“Thank you” Dani whispered, feeling a little embarrassed that just last night, Jamie had been helping her out of her clothes and now she was putting them back on for her, but the kind gesture made her heart swell in a way that she hadn't expected it to.

“No problem, Poppins” Jamie said with a small smile on her face, “Now let’s get you tucked up in bed, yeah?”.

Jamie lifted Dani’s legs and placed them on the bed then pulled the duvet back over Dani’s body and made sure that she was tucked in tightly.

“Try and get some sleep, it might do you the world of good” Jamie whispered as she placed a gentle kiss to Dani’s forehead.

“What about the kids?” Dani asked as she felt her body sink into the mattress below her.

“Don’t worry about them, I’ve got it covered” Jamie whispered as she offered Dani a reassuring smile, “You’ll be no good to them in this state anyway”.

“Yeah, you’re right” Dani said as she let out a soft giggle, “But I’ll be fine in a little while, I hope. I probably just ate something bad”.

“Don’t let Owen hear ya saying stuff like that” Jamie chuckled as she started putting on her t-shirt that she had been wearing the day before and the day before that too as she hadn't had the chance to go home and change.

Dani just giggled again as she pulled the duvet higher up around her body. “You can wear something of mine if you’d like?” Dani said softly as she realised that Jamie had worn those clothes for two days now because of her, “I know they might not be your style, but they are clean”.

“Thanks” Jamie whispered as she flashed Dani a grateful smile before rummaging back through Dani’s draws. 

Jamie finally found a baggy black high school t-shirt with some writing on which she threw on before she found a pair of grey sweatpants which she put on too. Once she was dressed, Jamie turned around to show Dani her outfit, but Dani was already fast asleep snoring softly.

Dani woke up 2 hours later with the feeling of nausea completely gone and with far more energy than she had woken up with that morning.

She smiled down at her body dressed in a thick sweater that she hadn't worn since she had arrived in England and a very old pair of her underwear that she had been a little embarrassed that Jamie had seen. She then found an old pair of slack jeans and put them on before running a brush through her wild, messy hair and brushing her teeth then making her way downstairs in search of Miles and Flora.

“Good morning you guys” Dani said cheerfully as she entered the kitchen to find Hannah, Owen, Miles and Flora sat around the kitchen table laughing.

“Oh, Miss Clayton!” Flora said, sounding rather relieved as she quickly stood up from her chair and ran to wrap her arms around Dani’s waist.

“Oh, hey Flora” Dani said laughing softly as she hugged the young girl back.

“How are you feeling, darling?” Hannah asked as she looked over at Dani with a soft smile.

“Much better, yeah, thank you” Dani said as she watched Flora let go of her, “I have no idea what happened, but I feel so much better now”.

“We missed you so much, Miss Clayton” Flora said as she dragged Dani towards the kitchen table.

“Did you manage okay without me?” Dani giggled as she took the spare seat next to Flora.

“Oh, yes” Flora said as she went back to writing in an exercise book, “Miss Jamie helped us get ready this morning, it was actually quite fun”.

“Jamie helped you get ready?” Dani asked as she looked down at what Flora was wearing and smiled softly, “That explains the mismatched outfit then”.

“Yes” Flora stated as she carried on writing, “I think Miss Jamie just picked the first things that she saw in my wardrobe, but I don’t mind. I think I quite like what she chose”.

“Me too” Dani said softly as she noticed that Flora somehow had two different coloured socks on. “Where is Jamie by the way? I thought she’d be here”.

“She’s out in the garden, dear” Hannah replied with a small knowing smile on her lips as she remembered seeing Jamie that morning wearing clothes that clearly weren’t hers.

“Oh, okay” Dani said as she lightly nodded her head, “I just wanted to tell her thanks for getting the kids ready this morning is all”.

Hannah just flashed her another small, knowing smile before she looked over at Owen.

“Can I make you anything to eat, Dani? I can't have you missing breakfast, it’s the most important meal of the day” Owen asked as he started to stand up to offer his extremely good cooking services to the young au pair.

“Erm…” Dani said as the sudden thought of eating something seemed to bring back the nausea a little but she couldn’t turn Owen down on his offer so she just said, “Toast will be fine, thank you. I don’t really feel like having much”.

As the day passed, Dani felt better and better and by the evening she had forgotten all about the sudden wave of nausea that had plagued her morning. Her day had carried on as usual in the classroom with the children but unlike every other day, Jamie came in every few hours to check on her. On an ordinary day, Dani and Jamie would hardly cross paths but that day, Jamie made frequent journeys into the house to see how Dani was doing.

“How are you feeling now?” Jamie asked quietly when they were sat next to each other at the kitchen table eating their dinner. Everyone else was engaged in their own conversations and no one was paying any attention to them, so Jamie took the opportunity to place her hand gently on Dani’s thigh and give it a soft squeeze.

“Good” Dani said smiling widely at the sensation of Jamie’s hand on her thigh, “I have no idea what happened, but I feel so much better now”.

“I’m glad” Jamie whispered as she went back to eating her food.

“Sorry you had to be there” Dani said softly, still feeling a little embarrassed that Jamie had to help her up and put on her clothes for her.

“It’s fine, Poppins” Jamie whispered with a small smile, “I’m glad I was there to lend a hand”.

“Yeah, me too” Dani whispered back, “I hate being ill, so it was nice to have someone looking after me. My Mom couldn’t stand the smell of vomit so she usually just left me to it”.

“I wish I could have stayed with you until you felt better” Jamie said after a moment of silence.

“Me too” Dani whispered, and it was her turn to place her hand on Jamie’s thigh and give it a small squeeze, “But you didn’t miss much, I just slept”.

“Still” Jamie said, “It’s nice to have someone by your side”.

“Yeah, it is” Dani whispered with a small smile.

The rest of the night flew by like usual. They all finished dinner and then said goodbye to Jamie and Owen before they left for the night and then Dani took the kids to bed. When she got into her own bed that night, it felt a lot emptier than it had done two days prior. Dani swapped her pillow for the one that Jamie had slept on and soon fell asleep with the soft aromas of Jamie’s floral shampoo.

Just like the morning before and the morning before that and the morning before that as well, Dani had woken up and immediately threw up last night’s dinner. Jamie hadn't slept over for two nights but that morning she was there to sit next to Dani on the cold tiled floor of her bathroom to hold her hair out of her face and rub her back.

“What’s wrong with me, Jamie?” Dani asked after she had finished vomiting and lent her head against Jamie’s shoulder in search of a little comfort.

“I don’t know, sweetheart” Jamie whispered as she pulled Dani into her lap and wrapped her arms tightly around her naked body.

“It can't be food poisoning, can it?” Dani asked as she buried her face into Jamie’s neck, “And I can't have a stomach bug because I feel fine during the day”.

“Sounds like you have morning sickness to me” Jamie joked as she kissed Jamie’s forehead, “Obviously can't keep it in my pants, can I?”.

Jamie furrowed her brow in confusion as she felt Dani’s body go stiff in her arms and she watched as Dani’s eyes widened and quickly shot from side to side.

“I was just joking, Dani” Jamie whispered as she ran her hand up and down Dani’s arm soothingly, “I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m sorry”.

All of a sudden, tears welled up in Dani’s eyes as she quickly lifted her head up and looked up at Jamie with panicked eyes.

“Dani?” Jamie whispered as she saw the sheer terror occupying the blonde’s eyes.

“I’ve not had my period for two months” Dani whispered as her body started to shake a little and Jamie couldn’t tell if it was from the lack of clothes making her cold or the panic.

“That doesn’t mean anything” Jamie said, trying her best the reassure Dani whose palms were now covered in a thick layer of cold sweat, “Mine are hardly regular and I really don’t think that I have the capacity to get you pregnant, Poppins”.

Dani sat quietly in Jamie’s lap as her mind raced to try and put the pieces of the puzzle together. She had just assumed that her period hadn't come as she had been so stressed. It was the first time that it had happened in her life and with her husband dying so suddenly and her moving to another country, it wasn’t a shock that her body had just skipped a few months. However, coupled with the sudden nausea and vomiting in the morning, pregnancy was looking a little more of a convincing explanation for her symptoms.

Jamie seemed to sense that Dani didn’t need her joking, even though she was just trying to ease her worry a little, so she just took hold of Dani’s hand and squeezed it softly.

“If you genuinely think that you could be pregnant, Dani, I can always nip into town and get you a test” Jamie whispered as she pulled Dani back into her, “Just to ease your mind if nothing else”.

“And what if I am?” Dani whispered, her voice barely audible as her body continued to shake.

“Then you’ll have a great support system around you to help, no matter what you decide to do” Jamie said softly as she placed a kiss to Dani’s temple, “You’ve got five people here who care a lot for you, Dani, so you won't be alone regardless of if you are pregnant or not”.

“I can't ask you all to do that for me” Dani whispered, “You’ve only just met me”.

“We can, Dani, and we will” Jamie whispered back before she slowly got to her feet and helped Dani up with her. “We all care about you, Dani and we all want the best for you, so we’re here if you need us”.

Dani just wrapped her arms around Jamie’s neck and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Thank you” Dani whispered before she placed a soft kiss to Jamie’s neck.

“You’re welcome, Poppins” Jamie said softly as she hugged Dani back, “Now let’s get you back to bed, huh? And I’ll make a quick trip to the store if you want me to”.

“Please” Dani whispered as she pulled out of the hug and offered Jamie a small, nervous smile, “As long as you don’t mind”.

“Course not, Poppins” Jamie said as she smiled widely at Dani in hopes of easing her worry a little.

Jamie then helped Dani back into bed after finding her some clothes to wear before placing a soft, reassuring kiss to her lips and leaving her to have an extra hour or so in bed. It was still early in the morning and the store in town wouldn’t be open yet, so she kept Dani company whilst she slept for a while before going and getting the kids up and dressed again. Jamie surprisingly enjoyed the little morning routine that had accidentally happened over the past two days since Dani had been ill and she wouldn’t be opposed to doing it again if she needed to.

Dani got up an hour or so later and made her way downstairs just as the kids were finishing up their breakfasts and just as Jamie was leaving to go to the store.

“I’ll be back soon” Jamie said softly as she flashed Dani a reassuring smile, “Try not to worry”.

Dani just nodded her head a little and let out a long, slow sigh in an attempt to calm her nerves. She really didn’t want to know whether her assumption was correct or not but on the other hand she did, but she couldn’t help her mind wondering to what would happen if she actually was pregnant. Not only would this change her life tremendously, it could also affect her job and would very likely affect her relationship that she was starting to build with Jamie but Dani just shook her head a little to rid her mind of the thoughts as she placed a quick kiss to Jamie’s lips before she headed out of the door. 

The day had passed relatively quickly as Dani tried to suppress her constant worry and the feeling of nausea in her stomach. Jamie had kept her promise and had arrived back around 15 minutes later with a small bag that she had gone and let in Dani’s bedroom. Dani had pushed away the thought of what was waiting for her in her room but as they had finished up their dinner and she had put the children to bed, she realised that she had to face reality. 

Dani had asked if Jamie would stay with her and be there when she took the test and Jamie had agreed. Dani knew that it was a lot to ask of the woman who she had only recently started to form a romantic relationship with, but she couldn’t face it alone and Jamie seemed happy enough to be there to support her.

“What if it comes back positive?” Dani whispered as she sat on the side of her bed with Jamie sat next to her.

“It might not though, Dani” Jamie said softly as she reached over for Dani’s hand that was picking nervously at her nails, “But if it does, then I’ll be here for you”.

“I can't ask you to do that” Dani whispered.

“You’re not” Jamie said as she ran her thumb over Dani’s knuckles softly, “I’m offering”.

“But it’s not fair on you” Dani whispered as she turned to face Jamie, “You didn’t sign up for this”.

“I signed up for you, didn’t I?” Jamie asked with a small smile on her lips, “And if this is a part of you then I’ll be here to help you through it”.

“Jamie” Dani said softly as a few tears escaped her eyes, “You don’t have to-”.

“I don’t have to do anything, I know that” Jamie said as she put her other hand over Dani’s and squeezed softly, “I’m offering. And if you don’t want me to be there for you then that’s fine but Dani, you need someone more than ever right now and I’m more than willing to be that person if you want me to”.

The tiny egg timer that Jamie had set interrupted their conversation to tell them that the pregnancy test was ready to tell them a result.

“I’m here” Jamie whispered softly as she gave Dani’s hand a final squeeze before she let it go to allow Dani to pick up the test from her bedside table.

Dani tightly closed her eyes as she picked up the test, still not really wanting to accept what was happening but a few moments later, she opened her eyes and they instantly welled up with tears as she saw the two unmistakably clear lines. 

Dani had no idea what to do and her whole body just went into shock as she fixated on the two lines hoping that they would suddenly turn into one if she wished hard enough. Her heart filled with dread as her stomach filled with guilt whilst she closed her eyes tightly again and prayed that this wasn’t happening. Dani hadn't prayed in a long time, not since she was a little girl who was forced to go to church every Sunday but for some reason, at that moment, she decided that it might be worth giving it another try. It hadn't worked all the other times before when she was younger when she prayed for her Dad to come back, when she had prayed for her Mother to love her and when she had prayed for Eddie’s family to adopt her but right now, there was no other option but to give it a go.

Jamie didn’t know what to do as she saw Dani tightly close her eyes and softly start to rock backwards and forwards. Her heart broke to see Dani in so much pain and although Jamie didn’t know what to say for the best, she tried to voice her support to Dani by gently placing her hand on top of one of Dani’s and rubbing the back of it gently with her thumb.

As soon as Jamie’s hand lightly placed itself on top of Dani’s shaking one, Dani’s body instantly gravitated towards Jamie’s. Dani turned her body towards Jamie and buried her face into the crook of her neck as she whole body shook, and the room filled with her cries that got increasingly louder as Jamie wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly.

Jamie never uttered a word to Dani as she held onto her and tried to her best to show Dani that she was here for her. Usually Jamie would whisper soft ‘it’s okay’ to try and comfort Dani but she didn’t as she really didn’t know if it was going to be okay or not but regardless of what was to come she was more than willing to be right beside her.


	2. Chapter 2

Jamie had stayed over at the manor that night as she couldn’t bear to leave Dani alone. Dani had eventually stopped crying after an hour or so once her and Jamie had gotten into bed together, but the cries were only replaced by soft whimpers and blank stares. 

Jamie had hardly slept that night as she wanted to be there for Dani if she needed her in the middle of the night and also her racing mind wouldn’t let her relax enough to sleep anyway. Dani had woken Jamie from her very light sleep as her body shook whilst she silently cried on her chest. Jamie had tried her best to soothe Dani and get her back to sleep by gently running her fingers through her hair and rubbing her back and after half an hour of heart breaking sobs, Dani had finally managed to fall back to sleep, likely as a result of her body being too tired to carry on her soft cries.

Only a few hours later, Dani was awake again and running into the bathroom as the nausea washed over her for the fifth day in a row and just as she had done two mornings before, Jamie had sat beside Dani and held back her hair as she threw up.

“What do I do now?” Dani whispered as she sat on the bathroom floor in between Jamie’s legs whilst she buried her face into her neck to try and find a little comfort from the brunette.

“I don’t know” Jamie whispered back honestly as she ran her hand up and down Dani’s back.

“Am I supposed to go to the doctors?” Dani asked as she wiped away the few tears that had formed in her eyes whilst she had been sick.

“I reckon it's a good enough place to start as any” Jamie said softly as she placed a gentle kiss to Dani’s temple.

“Can you come with me?” Dani asked shyly as she played with the collar of Jamie’s flannel nervously.

“Course I will but I’ve got a meeting with that tree surgeon today at 2pm but I can always cancel if I need to” Jamie said as she started to play with Dani’s hair.

“I’ll call them this morning then, but you really don’t have to cancel just for me” Dani whispered as her eyes fluttered shut at the calming sensation of Jamie’s fingers in her hair.

“I’m not letting you go on your own, Dani” Jamie said. She couldn’t even imagine what Dani was feeling and there was no way that she was letting her go to the doctors on her own. Dani needed support more than ever right now and someone was going to go with her even if Jamie couldn’t.

Just over an hour and a half later, Dani knocked softly on the door of Jamie’s green house and awkwardly stood in the doorway as she waited for Jamie to turn around.

“You got an appointment?” Jamie asked as she turned her head to smile softly at Dani before looking back at the plant that she was in the middle of repotting.

“Yeah” Dani said as she shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot.

“Oh, that’s good” Jamie said as she shot Dani another look over her shoulder before she finished with the plant and gave Dani her full attention, “What time?”.

“2:15pm” Dani said as she let out a small sigh, “That’s the only time that they had between today and the end of the week”.

“That’s alright, Poppins” Jamie said reassuringly as she took her gloves off and took hold of Dani’s hands as they nervously picked at her nails, “I’ll call the tree surgeon and try and reschedule”. 

“No, I can't ask you to do that” Dani said as she squeezed Jamie’s hands in hers, “You scheduled that appointment before I even arrived here”.

“It’s fine, I can try and reschedule or book another tree surgeon” Jamie said, “I’m not letting you go alone”.

“I can ask Hannah to come with me” Dani suggested with a small smile as she tried to ease both of their worry.

“Have you told her?” Jamie asked, slightly confused as Dani hadn't really had the time to talk to Hannah yet as she had been busy getting the kids up and ready for the day.

“No, not yet” Dani said as she let out a long steady breath, “I can just tell her it’s because I’m not feeling well. She’s knows I've been sick for the past few days, she probably won't even question it”.

“As long as you’re okay with that” Jamie said softly as she squeezed Dani’s hands again, “But I can still cancel if you need me to”.

“It’s okay” Dani said with a small smile, “Hannah won't mind”.

“Okay” Jamie said as she could tell that Dani was a little upset but really didn’t want everyone changing their lives to accommodate her as she probably knew that would be happening more and more as time went on. “But tell me how you get on, okay?” Jamie whispered as she pulled Dani into a tight hug which Dani’s body naturally sank into.

“I will” Dani whispered back. 

Just before 2pm arrived, Jamie knocked on Dani’s bedroom door to see how she was doing.

“Hey” Dani said smiling widely as she watched Jamie peer through the small gap of the slightly ajar door and smiled widely back at her.

“Just wanted to see how you were doing” Jamie said softly as she stepped inside Dani’s bedroom. 

“I’m good, yeah” Dani said softly as she started to close the distance between her and Jamie.

“Poppins” Jamie whispered as she could tell that Dani was lying. Her face was a lot paler than usual, her hands were awkwardly in tight fists by her sides and her eyes were filled with a few tears that were threatening to fall, “You don’t have to put on a brave face just for me, y’know”.

“I know” Dani whispered as she let Jamie take hold of her hands and untangle them from fists, “But if I don’t say I’m fine I’ll probably just cry again”.

Jamie knew that feeling very well so she just placed her hands on either side of Dani’s face as she brought her into a slow gentle kiss. “It’s going to be okay” Jamie whispered just as she pulled away a little from Dani’s lips, “I’ll be here if you need me”.

Dani just nodded softly before reconnecting her lips with Jamie’s and pulling the brunette closer into her as she let her mind forget everything for a second as she just focuses on the feeling of Jamie’s lips on hers.

A soft knock on the door caused both Dani and Jamie to jump away from each other and Jamie awkwardly cleared her throat as she saw Hannah stood in the doorway with a small smile on her lips. Nothing got past Hannah in the manor and both Dani and Jamie knew that she had an inkling about their relationship, but they hadn't openly said anything to anyone else yet as it was still early days but eventually, they would have to come clean. 

“Are you ready, darling?” Hannah asked as she remained stood in the doorway, not wanting to intrude on Dani’s space.

“Yes” Dani said as she plastered a wide smile on her face whilst she picked up her bag and walked towards Hannah.

“Oh, Jamie” Hannah said as she watched Jamie follow behind Dani, “There’s a lovely young man waiting for you at the door, says he’s a tree surgeon”.

“Oh, yeah, shit” Jamie said as she had completely forgotten that she was expecting a visitor. “Good luck, yeah” Jamie whispered to Dani with a small reassuring smile on her lips before she headed off quickly down the hallway.

As Jamie stood outside of the front door with the tree surgeon that she had book well over a month in advance as he was in great demand, she watched Dani and Hannah leave for the doctors. As Dani looked over at her, Jamie shot her a small smile and a playful wink which caused Dani’s fake smile for Hannah turn into a real one as a small laugh left her lips. Jamie hated that she couldn’t just go with Dani and keep her company or just make her laugh a little in hopes of easing her nerves whilst she waited in the doctor’s surgery, but she promised herself that for every other appointment that Dani was likely to have in the coming months, she would be right by her side if Dani wanted her to be.

“I’ll be right outside if you need me” Hannah said gently as she turned to look at Dani’s face which was drip white and clearly not hiding the fear as well as she thought that it was.

“Can, would it be okay if you came in with me?” Dani asked nervously as she turned to face Hannah who was staring at her with concern, “Just into the waiting area, I don’t really know what to do”.

“Of course I will” Hannah said softly as she gave Dani a small smile before heading out of her car and around to meet Dani so that they could walk into the doctors surgery together.

Dani had registered at the one and only doctors’ surgery in town as soon as she had arrived at the manor, but she had never been before. Hannah had given her the paperwork and took it in for her when she had gone into town, so Dani had no idea what she even needed to do once she arrived there, and she still hadn't gotten her head around that fact that she didn’t have to pay.

Hannah showed Dani what to do and Dani was pleasantly surprised that the process was so easy. There was no handing over of paperwork or IDs, all she had to do was tell the receptionist that she had an appointment and take a seat in the waiting room.

“That was easy” Dani chuckled as she took a seat on a plastic chair that looked exactly like the ones that used to be in her classroom back in Iowa, “Sorry I made you come in just for that”.

“It’s okay, dear” Hannah said kindly as she sat down next to Dani, “It’s all new for you, you’re bound to be nervous”.

“Yeah, it’s just so different here” Dani said as she felt a little more at ease now that she knew what to do at the doctors if she ever needed to come again but she still had the nagging feeling in the back of her mind as to why she was even coming here in the first place, “It’s like a whole new world”.

“I hope that you settle in here, Dani” Hannah said honestly. “We really like you and so do the children. I haven’t seen them this happy in a long time and I don’t think that I’ve ever seen Jamie so…” Hannah paused as she tried to find the right word for what she wanted to express to Dani, “Open to letting someone in”.

Dani smiled widely as she processed what Hannah had said, especially the part about Jamie, “Can I be honest with you Hannah?”.

“Of course you can, dear” Hannah said as she turned to give Dani her full undivided attention.

“I’ve never felt like I’ve belonged anywhere before and I’m really starting to feel like I am here” Dani said softly.

“I’m glad to hear it” Hannah said as she smiled kindly at Dani.

Before Dani could say anything else, the doctor called her name and the feeling of dread that had been pushed to the back of her mind suddenly appeared again as she stood up and headed down the corridor.

Around 40 minutes later, Dani and Hannah arrived back at the manor and as Dani made her way inside, she turned around and instantly found Jamie’s eyes even though she was way across the gardens instructing the tree surgeon what trees she needed the branches cutting off of. Dani gave her a small but convincing smile before she headed into the manor and probably back into the classroom to carry on with the children’s lessons for the day.

After the tree surgeon had finished off the job that he needed to do, Jamie made her way inside the manor to wash her hands and sit down for dinner. As she made her way into the kitchen, she saw Dani stood at the sink and she quietly stood beside her as she waited for her to finish washing the vegetables.

“How did it go?” Jamie whispered as that only Dani could hear her.

“Good, yeah” Dani said as she looked up at Jamie with a wide smile, “The doctor was really kind and so understanding”.

“That’s good” Jamie said as she let out a small sigh of relief as she had been so worried about how Dani’s appointment had gone, “Was everything okay?”.

“Yeah, I think so” Dani said as she continued washing the vegetables in the sink, “I have a scan tomorrow to check everything and to find out how far along I am if you’d like to come”.

Jamie’s smile grew wide at Dani’s question. “Yeah, I’d like to go if you want to me to”.

“I would” Dani said softly as she shifted to the side so that she could press her hip against Jamie’s, “You might also bring down my blood pressure a little bit, it was pretty high when the doctor checked it before, but she said that it was probably because I was so nervous”.

“I’d like to think that I raise your blood pressure a little, Poppins” Jamie said with a playful smirk on her lips as she nudged Dani’s hips with her own, “But I don’t mind doing the opposite either”.

Dani smiled widely at Jamie as Jamie reached into the sink to hold one of Dani’s hands.

“I’m glad it went well though today” Jamie whispered as she gave Dani’s hand a soft squeeze.

“Me too” Dani whispered as her eyes fluttered shut at the sensation of Jamie’s thumb tracing gently over her knuckles, “I wish I could kiss you right now”.

“Me too” Jamie whispered with a small sigh as she leaned further into Dani’s side that was now fully pressed against hers.

“Can you stay over again tonight?” Dani asked as she turned to look at Jamie.

“I was just about to ask you the same question” Jamie said with a chuckle as she gave Dani’s hand one last squeeze before she let it go so that she could wash her hands and sit down at the kitchen table for dinner.

The next day, Dani climbed into Jamie’s truck just before 11am to drive over to the next town so that she could have her scan. Since Dani had been unsure how far along she was and given that it had now been 7 weeks since Eddie had died, there was a good chance that she was a lot further along in her pregnancy than most people when they would first visit their doctors so, Dani’s doctor had sent her for a scan to see how far along she actually was and to also put Dani’s mind at ease a little.

Dani was a nervous person by nature, she always had been but with her life dramatically changing in such a short amount of time, it had only increased her anxiety tenfold. As Jamie pulled up outside of the clinic, Dani began nervously picking at her nails and her leg was bouncing about like crazy.

“Hey” Jamie whispered as she placed a hand over Dani’s to stop her nervous fidgeting, “It’s going to be okay”.

“I know” Dani whispered softly, “It’s just, it’s going to actually be real now. Before it was just two lines on a test but now it’s going to be a real baby”.

“I know” Jamie said softly as she intertwined her fingers with Dani’s, “And I can't imagine what you’re feeling right now but I’m here for you if you need me”.

“I know you are” Dani whispered as she squeezed Jamie’s hand, “And I can't thank you enough. I couldn’t have done this without you”.

“You could have” Jamie said reassuringly, “Because you’re the bravest person that I know”.

Dani smiled softly up at Jamie as she squeezed her hand tightly, “Will you come in with me? I understand if you don’t want to but I-”.

“Course I will” Jamie whispered with a small smile on her face. 

Although Jamie did have her reservations about going into the scan with Dani, she knew that she needed to support her. They lived in rural England in the 1980s so they were bound to get a few funny looks but surely women took their friends to their baby scans for moral support all the time if their partners couldn’t be there so it might not look as strange as Jamie had imagined. She wasn’t ashamed of herself and she didn’t hide her sexuality either, but this situation was different, she had Dani with her now, and Dani was new to this and also going through a very confusing time right now, so Jamie had to be mindful of that. 

Dani and Jamie walked into the small room together and were instantly greeted by a slightly overfriendly midwife who would be taking Dani’s scan. The midwife busied herself with getting Dani to lay on the bed whilst she took a few details from her before she turned to look at Jamie and asked Dani, “And who have you brought with you today?”.

“My, erm, my friend” Dani said smiling half-apologetically to Jamie.

They hadn't made their relationship official yet, but they knew that they meant way more to each other than what the term friend suggested but it was good enough for now.

Jamie gave the midwife a small smile before she said, “Came for moral support”.

“That’s nice” the midwife said as she smiled widely at Jamie then back at Dani, “It’s always good to have a strong support system around you, especially now. A lot of women don’t always have that so you’re very lucky. You’ve got a great friend”.

“I know” Dani said smiling softly back at the midwife before she turned to give Jamie a wide smile.

“So, we’re checking how far along you are, is that right?” the midwife asked as she got everything that she needed ready for the scan.

“Yeah” Dani said nodding a little as her hands fidgeted with the hem of her jumper as she laid on the bed.

“Can you lift your jumper up for me, please?” the midwife asked kindly to which Dani rolled up her purple sweater, “Do you have a rough estimation of how many weeks along you are or are you not sure?”.

“It has to be at least 7” Dani said as her brows knitted a little in the middle at the memory of what had happened 7 weeks ago back in Iowa and how much her life had changed since that day.

“Okay” the midwife said as she gave Dani a small reassuring smile, “Just a little warning, the gel is usually pretty cold, but it should warm up soon enough”.

Dani just nodded as she watched the midwife squirt some gel onto her stomach and she winced a little at the sensation of the cool gel hitting her warm skin.

The midwife then placed the probe on Dani’s stomach and started to move it around a little.

It took a little while for her to find what she was looking for but eventually, something resembling a baby appeared on the screen. Although neither Dani nor Jamie could see it very well as the midwife had the screen pointing towards her as she studied the image, they both could still make out the shape.

As soon as Dani saw the tiny outline of a baby on the screen, she instantly reached out to take Jamie’s hand in hers. She no longer cared what the midwife would think or even what Jamie would think, she just wanted someone to ground her, and she also wanted to share this moment with someone that she was quickly beginning to fall for.

Dani had always loved children and she had cherished her job as a teacher and now her job as an au pair, but she had always had a complicated relationship with the idea of having children of her own. There’s was no doubt that she wanted children and a family but the idea of having one with Eddie just didn’t sit right with her and not because of Eddie himself, he would have made a wonderful Father, but it was the idea of having such a traditional family that felt weird to her. Dani had always wondered why she had felt like that but in the recent months, it had become quite clear why. Dani hadn't let herself think too much about what her future would look like now but she had let her mind wonder a little and the idea of starting a family with Jamie made her heart swell in a way that it had never done before.

“Wow” Jamie whispered in awe as she craned her neck to look at the scan whilst she squeezed Dani’s hand softly. 

Although this situation was one that Jamie had never imaged that she would ever be in, she couldn’t help but have a good feeling about it. Dani was the only person who she had ever felt this way about and the only person who she had really allowed herself to let in and although neither of them had any idea what was to come, as soon as Jamie had seen the tiny outline of the baby on the monitor, she swore that she would do everything that she could to make sure that them and Dani would be safe and happy.

“It looks like you’re almost 10 weeks along” the midwife said as she turned to look over at Dani.

“10?” Dani asked as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Yes” the midwife said as she turned back to face the monitor, “You’ll get a more accurate estimate at your 3 month scan but I would say that you aren’t far off 10 weeks already”.

“Oh” Dani whispered as she started to bite the nail of her thumb nervously.

“Are you okay?” Jamie whispered so that only Dani would be able to hear her. She could see that something was clearly playing on Dani’s mind and she wondered what it was.

“Y-Yes, yeah” Dani said as she shot Jamie a small smile which didn’t really do anything to reassure Jamie.

“Everything looks normal and healthy” the midwife said as she turned her screen towards Dani and Jamie, “I’ll leave you to have a watch of baby whilst I go and get you your pictures and some leaflets. You do want pictures, right?”.

“Erm, yeah, that would be great, thanks” Dani said as she turned to look at the recording of her scan on the screen.

“I’ll be right back” the midwife said as she smiled widely at Dani and Jamie before existing the room.

Dani and Jamie then sat in silence for a few moments as they both focused their attention on the screen in front of them.

“I can't believe that that’s my baby” Dani whispered as she squeezed Jamie’s hand which she still hadn't let go of.

“Me neither” Jamie whispered back as she turned to look at Dani who had tears in her eyes.

“A whole little life inside of me” Dani said softly as her eyes remained fixated on the baby on the screen.

“Are you okay?” Jamie asked as she wiped away a tear that had escaped from Dani’s eye.

“Yeah” Dani chuckled as she turned to look at Jamie, “Yeah I am. I never thought that I’d ever have a baby of my own. I was always so uncomfortable with the idea of having the whole nuclear family and the white picket fence type of life but now I, I’ve discovered this whole new world where I can finally be who I’ve always been and, and I think that that’s a great environment to raise a child, don’t you think?”.

“Yeah” Jamie chuckled as she wiped away a few more of the tears that had fallen from Dani’s eyes.

“And I don’t expect me and you to be anything more than friends right now. I know you didn’t sign up for this and there’s no pressure for you to do anything that you aren’t comfortable with” Dani said with a small, sad smile as she knew that this situation that she found herself in may have just ended the first romantic relationship that she had had with someone who she genuinely liked and felt truly herself with.

“Dani” Jamie whispered as she placed her free hand on Dani’s cheek, “I know this is a less than normal situation and it might take me a little time to make sense of it all but for me, this doesn’t change the way that I feel about you and where I want our relationship to go. And I understand that this may change everything for you and that’s totally fine but if it doesn’t, I would still like us to carry this on and see where it goes. I’ve never met anyone like you before Dani, and I’ve never felt this way about a person before and I really don’t want to lose that”.

“Really?” Dani asked as a few more tears escaped her eyes which Jamie quickly wiped away with her thumb.

“Really” Jamie whispered honestly as she smiled softly down at Dani, “As long as you want that too”.

“I do” Dani said as she giggled softly before pulling Jamie into a slow gentle kiss that said everything that neither of them could with words.

A few kisses later that had gradually become laced with both of their joyful tears, Jamie was the first to pull away as she let out a soft chuckle when she saw the stream of tears down Dani’s face and the wide smile on her face. 

“You’re so beautiful” Jamie whispered as she pulled out a tissue from the box on the table next to her and used it to wipe away Dani’s tears gently.

“So are you” Dani giggled as she watched Jamie then use the same tissue to wipe away her own tears.

A few moments later, the midwife returned and smiled widely as she saw the large grins on both of Dani and Jamie’s faces as they focused on the screen in front of them.

“So, these are your pictures” the midwife said as she handed Dani a series of scan pictures and then handed her some booklets, “And these are just some leaflets that you’ll probably find useful to have a read over”.

“Thank you” Dani said as she placed them into her bag before wiping the gel from her stomach and pulling her jumper down.

“You can book in for your 3 month scan at the desk if you want to now or you can ring whenever you’re ready” the midwife said as Dani sat up on the bed, “Let me just take your blood pressure and then you can be on your way”.

And just as Dani had thought, having Jamie sat beside her with a wide grin on her face made her calm enough to bring her sky high blood pressure from the day before down to a normal level.

As soon as Dani had gotten into Jamie’s truck, she took out the scan photos and had a look through them. When she had seen the two lines appear on the pregnancy test 3 days ago, all she could feel was dread and guilt but now as she intently studied the tiny baby on the photos in her hands, all she could feel was pure joy. There was a little life growing inside of her and although the circumstances may not have been how Dani had wanted them to be when she brought a child into the world, but she knew that the small family that she now had in Bly would be the perfect people to help her raise this little person.

“Do you want one?” Dani asked as she looked over at Jamie who was sat next to her observing her as she smiled widely at the pictures.

“No, it’s okay” Jamie said softly. Her heart swelled at the thought of Dani thinking so highly of her to give her one of her scan pictures. “You don’t need to do that”.

“But I want to” Dani said as she flicked through the photos and chose one to give to Jamie.

“I really couldn’t” Jamie said as she shook her head lightly as Dani tried to pass her the photo.

“Please” Dani said hopefully as she tried to hand the photo to Jamie again, “I want you to have one”.

Jamie smiled softly as she took the photo from Dani and looked down at it. It was a little difficult to distinguish the details, but it was clearly a baby and not just any baby either, it was Dani’s baby. Jamie chuckled softly as she ran her fingers gently over the baby’s head as she let her mind wonder to what the baby might look like once it arrived into their world. “Thanks” Jamie whispered softly as she didn’t really know how to put into words what the small gesture really meant to her, “Do you mind if I erm, I put it on my fridge door at home?”.

“Not at all” Dani said softly as she reached over to take hold of one of Jamie’s hands, “I love that idea”.

Dani and Jamie drove back to the manor in relative silence as Dani kept on staring at the photos of her baby in her hands.

“When shall we tell Hannah and Owen?” Dani asked as she remained in her seat even though Jamie had just pulled up in her usual parking space at the manor.

Jamie’s heart fluttered a little at the use of the word ‘we’ like it was their news to share with the world. Jamie had never been very maternal but there was something stirring inside of her stomach as she thought about being a part of this baby’s life.

“It’s your news to tell, Poppins, not mine” Jamie chuckled as she reached over to take Dani’s hand, “But tell them whenever you like, I’m sure they will be thrilled”.

“You know what I mean” Dani giggled as her heart did the same flutter that Jamie’s had done as she realised that she had referred to the news as something that was both hers and Jamie’s equally, “But I kinda like this being our little secret for now”.

Jamie smiled softly as she brought Dani’s hand up to kiss the back of it, “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be there to support you”.


	3. Chapter 3

A week had passed by in the blink of an eye as Dani and Jamie wondered around the manor holding onto their little secret, well two quite big secrets but if they were being honest, they both knew that Hannah and Owen knew about their relationship. Miles and Flora were none the wiser however about Dani and Jamie’s not-yet-labelled relationship, although Flora had sometimes questioned why Jamie was always at the manor so early in the mornings, why she always stayed for dinner each night now and why she would sometimes drive Dani to work on the mornings after Dani’s days off, but Jamie had always answered Flora’s question in a way that really didn’t answer her question at all, but Flora seemed to happily accept them regardless.

Dani had decided that she would tell Hannah and Owen that she was pregnant once she had told Eddies Mom, Judy. Dani felt that it was only right to tell her first as after all, this would be Judy’s first grandchild and Dani didn’t really have much of a connection with any of Eddie’s other family members and Dani knew that Judy would be there to support her even if it might take her some time to get her head around the situation. 

Dani had had a week to really sit with the surprising news and let it sink in and the initial feelings of dread and guilt had all but disappeared. Dani had come to England for a fresh start and a chance to really explore who she truly was without being trapped by everyone from her hometown who had always seemed to supress the person that she had wanted to be and initially, finding out that she was pregnant had felt like just another way for the real Dani, who she had denied all of her life, to be suppressed again. Dani had finally accepted her sexuality to some degree and had started her first relationship with someone who she truly felt that she could love only to find out 3 weeks later that she was pregnant. However, Dani had come to realise that being pregnant hadn't really affected that part of her life like she thought that it would. 

Getting married and having children had been something that Dani had strongly pushed away from when she had been in Iowa. Everyone around her had wanted her to live this ‘normal’ traditional life and the thought of living in a nice house with a husband and a couple of children scared the life out of her but not anymore. Her only view of marriage and family life had been from her own family and Eddie’s family and she didn’t really want to emulate either one of them but over the past week, she had let her mind wonder to what this new version of Dani’s life could look like. She knew that she couldn’t marry a woman, that wasn’t even a possibility yet, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t have a family with a woman. Granted, that would be very difficult, and they would have to find somewhere where they felt safe enough to do that, however, it could be a real possibility. The idea of creating the perfect version of a family that she had always dreamed of made her heart swell considerably and the only woman who Dani could see filling the other spot in her dream was Jamie.

Jamie had been incredible for the past week and it had only fuelled Dani’s desires to move things along in their relationship. Although they had only known each other for 4 weeks, they had developed a bond like no other that neither of them had ever felt before. They had been through a lot together in only a short space of time which had only made their bond grow stronger and now that Dani knew that Jamie had no plans to run away and leave her now that she was pregnant, Dani wanted to put a label on what their relationship was. They hadn't necessarily neglected to put a name to what they felt but they had just been too busy being together and enjoying that, that they hadn't really discussed a label yet.

Before Dani talked to Judy, she first wanted to discuss her and Jamie’s relationship with Jamie. Dani knew that Judy would ask about her support system and who would help raise this baby in Eddie’s place and Dani also knew that no one would ever be able to fill that place for Judy but in Dani’s eyes, Jamie could, and she wanted to express that to Judy so long as Jamie was okay with that too.

“I, erm…” Dani started as she laid her head on Jamie’s chest and curled herself into Jamie’s side.

It was Dani’s day off which usually meant that she left the manor to stay with Jamie. Although Dani adored the manor and her little room inside of it, the walls were paper thin and with Hannah and the children only down the hallway, Dani and Jamie couldn’t exactly do what they wanted with each other out of fear of being heard. That didn’t stop them of course, but it did mean that they had to be extremely quiet but when Dani stayed over at Jamie’s flat, they had no restrictions. 

Dani and Jamie had spent the whole morning in bed together and had only gotten out to eat breakfast before heading back under the duvet again. It had been a good morning for Dani’s morning sickness. Usually, she would spend all morning going back and forth to the bathroom, but she had only been sick twice so far which was a considerable improvement compared to some days. She didn’t know whether it was the neutral smells of Jamie’s flat that had caused the nausea to stay at bay. The manor was always filled with a wide range of smells and a large proportion of them caused the nausea to only get worse but there was none of that in Jamie’s flat, just the smell of plants and Jamie’s perfume.

“I wanted to talk to you about something” Dani said, almost hesitantly as she felt Jamie’s fingers continue to draw small circles on her bare back.

Jamie just hummed as if to acknowledge Dani’s words but to also to let her continue.

“I, erm, I don’t really know how to phrase it without it coming out wrong” Dani said nervously as she rubbed her thumb over Jamie’s ribcage.

“You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?” Jamie said softly as her fingers continued their lazy trails of Dani’s spine, “No matter how you think it might sound or come across. Whatever it is, we can talk about it and figure it out”.

“I know” Dani said softly as she placed a gentle kiss to Jamie’s collarbone, “I was thinking of talking to Judy today and well, it made me think about us”.

Jamie just nodded lightly in acknowledgement.

“I know it’s only been a month, but I really like you, Jamie and I, I think that you like me too” Dani said as her fingers played with a strand of Jamie’s hair.

“I think you know that I like you, Dani” Jamie chuckled as she pulled Dani closer into her, “I haven’t just spent the last 2 hours between your legs because I didn’t like you”.

A slightly blush filled Dani’s cheeks as she smiled widely into Jamie’s chest whilst she focussed on the slight ache between her legs at the thought of how they had spent their morning so far.

“But I think you know it’s more than just that, Poppins” Jamie whispered honestly as she placed a tender kiss to the top of Dani’s head, “I’ve never felt like this with anyone before and at the sake of ruining my reputation, you make my heart skip a beat when I just think about you, let alone when you kiss me or smile at me or look at me the way you are right now”.

Dani smiled widely as she sat up and stared into safe hazel eyes. “I love it when you’re soft and cute” Dani whispered before she placed a soft kiss to Jamie’s lips.

“It’s only reserved for you so don’t be going around telling everyone that I’m soft” Jamie chuckled as she let Dani rest her head back onto her chest.

“I won't” Dani giggled as she placed light kisses along Jamie’s neck.

After a moment of silence, Jamie whispered, “Is this conversation going where I think it’s going?”.

“I don’t know” Dani chuckled as she sat up again and propped herself up on one elbow, “Where do you think that it’s going?”.

“I don’t know” Jamie said as she smirked a little, “But if you’ve got a question to ask me, I think I have my answer”.

“Really?” Dani whispered as a soft smile appeared on her lips before she leant forward to place a quick kiss to Jamie’s jaw.

Jamie just nodded as she reached down to lace her fingers with Dani’s which were tracing along her ribs.

“I’m nervous” Dani giggled as a slight blush fell over her cheeks as the question played on her tongue.

“What are you nervous for, Poppins?” Jamie chuckled as she picked up their conjoined hands so that she could place a light kiss to Dani’s knuckles, “You know what my answer is going to be”.

“Still” Dani giggled as she bowed her head a little.

After a moment of silence in which Dani practiced the question that she wanted to ask Jamie in her mind before she looked up into Jamie’s expectant hazel eyes and whispered, “Will you be my girlfriend?”.

Jamie’s small reassuring smile turned into a wide toothy one as she watched Dani nervously asked her to be her girlfriend. 

“Of course I will” Jamie whispered as she lifted her head up from the pillow to catch Dani’s lips in a quick kiss that was just a clashing of teeth as neither of them could stop smiling.

“Really?” Dani asked as she pulled away from the kiss.

“Really” Jamie whispered before she brought Dani into long, heated kiss as she flipped them over so that she was straddling Dani.

“You make me so happy” Dani giggled as she wrapped her arms around Jamie’s neck and pulled her forward.

“You make me so happy too” Jamie whispered softly as she kissed the tip of Dani’s nose, “Are you ready for round… what round are we on now?”.

“I’ve not been counting” Dani giggled as she pressed Jamie’s forehead against hers, “But I think that I can manage one more”.

“Good” Jamie chuckled as she kissed Dani’s lips softly before her lips travelled down to Dani’s jaw, neck then down to her stomach before she settled herself back between Dani’s thighs.

An hour later, Dani and Jamie were sat opposite each other on the tiny kitchen table, only big enough for one person really, that was placed underneath the small window in Jamie’s kitchen whilst they ate their lunch.

“Can we finish our conversation from before?” Dani asked softly before she took another bite of her food.

Although Dani adored staying over at Jamie’s flat, the one thing that she did miss was Owen’s cooking. Neither her nor Jamie could cook so Jamie would usually run downstairs to the pub beneath her flat to order them some food which is what she had done again today.

“Yeah, of course” Jamie chuckled as she remembered why their conversation had been interrupted, “Sorry, I got a little carried away”.

“You don’t need to be sorry” Dani giggled as she nudged Jamie’s foot underneath the small table, “You can interrupt as many conversations as you want if you keep doing that”.

“Don’t tempt me” Jamie chuckled as she took her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched a light blush creep up from Dani’s chest and settle on her cheeks.

“So, I wanted to talk to Judy today, to tell her about the baby” Dani started as she tried to shake the thoughts of Jamie’s comment from her mind to focus on the conversation at hand.

Jamie just nodded as she took another bite of her food.

“And I wanted to talk to you before, about us” Dani said as she pushed the food on her plate around a little. “And I know we did” Dani giggled as she remembered that her and Jamie were now officially girlfriends, “And that was one part of the conversation that I wanted to have but I also wanted to talk to you about me you and the baby”.

“Okay” Jamie said as she placed her knife and fork down on her plate to give Dani her full undivided attention.

“Because I know Judy will ask me all of these questions and I don’t want to answer for you or without talking to you first” Dani said as she copied Jamie’s actions and placed her utensils on her plate too, “And I want you to answer honestly too, please don’t feel any pressure to agree to something that you don’t feel comfortable with”.

“I’ll be honest, I promise” Jamie whispered as she took hold of Dani’s hand which was picking at the side of the table, “As long as you’re honest with me too”.

“I will be” Dani whispered as she squeezed Jamie’s hand. “I know Judy will be concerned about who will take Eddie’s place in raising the baby” Dani said as she tightly held onto Jamie’s hand, “And if it was up to me, I wouldn’t be asking you this so soon. It’s not a simple yes or no question and it’s a life changing decision and we’ve only known each other for a month but I want to be ready for what Judy will ask and I don’t want to answer for you. I hope you understand, and I know it’s not an easy question”.

“You’re right, it’s not a simple answer” Jamie whispered before she paused for a second to think about what she wanted to say, “But the one thing that I think is simple for me is that I want to be there for you and I want to be there for this baby and however you want me to do that, I will. And as for taking Eddie’s place, I don’t think that I could ever do that, especially in Judy’s eyes, and honestly, I don’t really want to take anyone’s place, but I will take on whatever role you want me to. I really like you, Dani and I’m committed to this relationship and to you and to this baby and I promise that I will stand by you both, as long as you both want me to do that, that is”.

“We want you to” Dani said softly as she could feel her eyes fill with tears whilst she stood up to sit herself on Jamie’s lap before placing Jamie’s hand onto her stomach, “Of course we want you to. We wouldn’t want anything else”.

An hour later, Jamie left Dani in the living room to call Judy whilst she kept herself busy in her bedroom sorting out her laundry. Jamie’s flat was small and open plan so she could still hear Dani’s voice and see her, but she wanted to give her some space without leaving her alone, just in case she needed her for any reason.

“Judy?” Dani asked nervously as she heard someone pick up the phone.

“Oh, Danielle!” Judy exclaimed in a familiar homely voice that instantly relaxed Dani a little, “To what do I owe this please?”.

“Hi” Dani giggled softly at how excited Judy sounded, “I, erm, I actually needed to talk to you about something”.

“Oh?” Judy said as she heard the change in tone of Dani’s voice.

“I, erm, I don’t really know how to say this” Dani said nervously, “And I wish that I could have done this in person, but I have something to tell you”.

“Oh, Danielle, just tell me, you’re making me nervous” Judy joked as she sensed Dani’s anxiety through the phone line.

“I’m…” Dani started as she turned around to look at Jamie who was trying her best to fold her laundry as she stared out of the window, “I, I’m pregnant”.

“Pregnant?” Judy asked flatly as her mind started to process the new information, “With who?”.

“Eddie” Dani said softly, almost apologising like she had done something wrong.

“Eddie?” Judy asked as she took a few moments to think about what Dani had said, “Are you sure?”.

“Yes” Dani whispered, “I’m 10 weeks pregnant”.

“10?” Judy whispered back as tears started to well in her eyes, “Did Eddie know?”.

“No” Dani said quietly as her eyes also started to fill with tears too, “I only just found out a week ago”.

“Oh” Judy said, the disappointment clear in her voice, “He would have been so happy y’know”.

“I know” Dani whispered reflectively as she thought about how thrilled Eddie would have been to find out that he was going to be a Dad, “He would have made such a great Father”.

“Yeah, he would have” Judy whispered reflectively as she let her mind briefly wonder to images of her son having a child of his own.

A moment of silence passed as Judy sat with the information before whispering, “How are you doing, Danielle? I can't imagine how you are feeling”.

“I’m okay” Dani said truthfully. She was in fact doing okay. She had had some time to process the idea of having Eddie’s baby without him, but she knew that she had found a great support system in Jamie as well as the other people who worked at the manor too. “I’ve had some time to really process it”.

“Do you need me to come there, to be with you?” Judy offered and Dani knew that Judy wouldn’t hesitate to jump on the next plane to England to support her, “Or maybe you want to come home, to be around family?”.

“No, no it’s okay” Dani said, really not wanting to disrupt Judy’s life more than she already had, “I’m okay, I really am. I’ve found some really great people here who are taking good care of me”.

“Oh, that’s good, Danielle, I’m so glad” Judy said honestly as her voice lifted a little, “But I hate to ask, how are you going to raise a baby on your own, dear? Don’t you need your family there to help you? You know that we are more than willing to be there for you”.

Dani knew that Judy was likely just talking about herself. Both her and Judy knew that Dani’s Mom wouldn’t be that willing to have her daughter move back home with a newborn and help raise it, but Judy always referred to herself as Dani’s family because she was, and she always had been. Judy had been more of a Mother to her than Dani’s own Mom and both of them knew that.

“I, erm, I’ve met someone” Dani whispered, not sure how Judy would take the news. Dani knew that it may have been too soon in Judy’s eyes but what she had found with Jamie was rare and she hoped that Judy would one day understand that.

“Oh?” Judy asked, her voice light and expressing her intrigue.

“Yeah, her name’s Jamie” Dani whispered nervously, hoping that Judy would take the news well.

“Her?” Judy asked.

“Yes” Dani said as she let out a small sigh.

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear I didn’t know that you were…” Judy trailed off as she tried to search for the right word to finish her sentence.

“I didn’t know either” Dani said softly as she saved Judy from trying to search for a word that neither of them would think of as being correct, “Well, I think that I did but I, I didn’t, well I couldn’t accept that about myself then, but I have now. I know that it’s a lot to get your head around and I'm really sorry for just springing this on you like this, especially over the phone but I really wanted you to be the first person to know”.

There was a moment of silence before Judy said, “I always wondered sometimes if you were really happy with Eddie. You were always so bright and happy but sometimes your eyes gave away what you were really feeling, and I should have asked you how you really were, but I think that I just, I didn’t want to accept that the life we had planned for you both wasn’t going to happen”.

“It’s not your fault” Dani whispered as she wondered what Judy had seen in her eyes to make her question what she had with Eddie, “I didn’t really understand what I was feeling so even if you’d have asked me, I wouldn’t have known”.

“Are you happy now though?” Judy asked in a tone that suggested that she really did want to know.

“Yeah” Dani said as she looked over at Jamie again who caught her eye and smiled back at her, “Yeah I am. I really am”.

“And Jamie, is she okay with this? Your baby?” Judy asked as she once again sounded like she was genuinely interested and invested in Dani’s response.

“Yeah, she is” Dani said as a small smile spread across her lips as she looked over to Jamie’s fridge with her scan picture stuck to the door just like Jamie had said that she would do, “It’s early days yet I know but she’s been with me every step of the way so far and wants to be there for every step yet to come”.

“That’s great” Judy said softly as she tried to hold back her tears, “I just wish that I could give you a hug, I can't imagine how hard this has been for you”.

“I wish that I could give you a hug too” Dani chuckled as a few tears fell from her eyes, “And I’m so sorry that I’ve had to tell you this over the phone, I can't image how you must be feeling”.

“It might take me some time to fully process it” Judy said honestly as she wiped away some of her tears that had run down her cheeks, “But I’m happy, I really am. I just wish that Eddie would have known, you know, before he died but he knows now, right?”.

“Yeah, me too” Dani said as a few more tears ran down her cheeks as she genuinely wished that Eddie had known that he was going to be a Dad, “But he knows now and he’ll always be a part of this baby’s life, Judy, I promise. He’ll always be their Dad, and nothing will ever change that. And you’ll always be a part of their life too, if you want to be”.

“Of course I want to be” Judy chuckled as she sniffed a few times and wiped her eyes with a tissue, “As long as that’s okay with you?”.

“Of course it is!” Dani said with a wide smile on her lips, “You know you’re like my Mom, Judy and I would love nothing more than for you to be in this baby’s life, you know that”.

“I’m so happy for you, Danielle” Judy said as she cleared her throat a little to try and stop herself from crying, “I’ve never heard you sound so happy before”.

“Yeah, I am” Dani said as she looked up to find Jamie smiling softly over at her, “For the first time in quite a while actually. It feels good”.

“You deserve all the happiness in the world, Danielle” Judy said softly as she held the phone closer to her as if trying to get closer to Dani through the phone.

“You too” Dani said softly as a small smile spread across her lips at the thought of Judy. She had leant quite heavily on Judy in the past and now that she had moved all the way across the pond, she missed having Judy to support her and tell her that everything was going to be all right. “How are you doing, Judy?” Dani asked after a moment of silence had passed, “How are the family doing?”.

“We’re good” Judy said with a small laugh as she thought about Dani being so concerned about her and her family even though she was going through an extremely tough time of her own, “It’s taking a little getting used to as you probably know but we’re all doing okay. I know it sounds dumb but sometimes I go to call him at the end of the day and then I suddenly realise after I’ve started to dial the number that he’s not here anymore”.

“It doesn’t sound dumb at all” Dani said as she started to relax a lot more after having told Judy her news and her taking it better than she thought that she was going to so the conversation was starting to feel a little more familiar to her now. “Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I still think that he’s asleep next to me or sometimes I’ll be making a sandwich and go to cut off the crusts like he liked”.

“I can't believe that he still wouldn’t eat the crusts of his sandwiches when he was 26” Judy said as she laughed softly.

Dani laughed too as she remembered how much Eddie used to hate eating the crusts of his sandwiches both at the age of 6 and at the age of 26. “It’s nice to talk about him like this” Dani said reflectively as she played with the necklace around her neck that Eddie had bought her a few years prior that she didn’t had the heart to not wear anymore.

“Yeah, it is” Judy whispered with a small smile, “Everyone usually just avoids talking about him to me and treats me like if I hear his name, I’ll shatter into a million pieces but it’s nice to talk about him, especially with someone who really knew him. It's almost therapeutic”.

“Yeah, I know that feeling” Dani said quietly as she thought back to how everyone in Iowa had treated her after Eddie had died and how much better Jamie had treated her when she had come to England and told her about what had happened. She hadn't treated her like she was going to break, she had just talked to her about Eddie normally in the same way that someone would have done if they hadn't had known what had happened to him, “And we should do this more often, it’s nice to remember him like this”.

“We should” Judy said smiling widely, “I’ve really enjoyed this chat with you today, Danielle”.

“Yeah, me too” Dani said smiling softly, “Oh, and I was meant to ask you before, but I forgot. Would you like a scan picture, I can send you one in the post”.

“Really?” Judy asked excitedly, “I would love that, yes”.

“I’ll send it tomorrow” Dani said smiling widely, “I hope that it won't take too long to arrive. It’s only an early scan but once I go for my 12 week one, I should get a clearer picture and I can send you another one”.

“I’m sure that it won't take too long to arrive, I can't wait to have a look. And Danielle,” Judy said seriously, “If you ever need me, I'm just a phone call away, you know that, don’t you? And I’ve always wanted to go to England so I wouldn’t need much persuasion to just come over to see you if you ever need me to”.

“I know” Dani said giggling softly, “And you’re always welcome here, anytime you’d like”.

“I will definitely be taking you up on that offer” Judy said laughing softly, “Oh, someone is calling on the other line, dear, I’ll have to go but ring me soon, okay?”.

“I will do” Dani said as she smiled widely at the thought of Judy coming to visit her in Bly.

“And congratulations, Danielle” Judy said seriously, “You’ll be an amazing Mother, I just know it”.

“Thank you” Dani said softly. Judy’s words meant more to her than Judy would probably ever really know, “Bye Judy”.

“Bye dear” Judy said before the line cut off.

Dani put the phone down and then walked the short distance over to Jamie who was laid on her bed reading a book. Dani then climbed onto the bed and excitedly wrapped her arms around Jamie and placed a few soft kisses onto her neck before pulling away.

“That go well then I take it?” Jamie chuckled as she put her book down and wrapped her arms around Dani.

“Yeah, I did” Dani said as she beamed up at Jamie, “I feel so much lighter now”.

“I’m glad that it went well, Poppins” Jamie said as she kissed Dani’s forehead gently.

“Just Hannah and Owen to tell now” Dani said as her brows furrowed a little with nerves.

“They’ll be thrilled for you, I'm sure of it” Jamie said as she kissed away the crease in Dani’s brow, “No need to be nervous”.

“We can tell them tomorrow?” Dani asked as she looked up at Jamie hopefully.

“Yeah, if you want to” Jamie said as she smiled softly down at Dani and felt the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.

“Will you be there with me when I do it?” Dani asked, the hope evident in her voice.

“If you want me to, yeah” Jamie said as she intertwined her fingers with Dani’s.

“Yeah, I really want you to be there” Dani said as she placed Jamie’s hand on her stomach lightly, “We want you to be there.

“Can't say no to that then, can I?” Jamie chuckled as she leant forward to give Dani a slow loving kiss that told her that she would always be there for her and the baby if they wanted her to be.


End file.
